Preliminary
Syllabus (for information only)
ENGL2238: Children’s Literature (Fall 2017)
A
fuller preliminary syllabus, with details on assignments, will be
available via Brightspace in early August.
Tuesdays
and Thursdays, 1:05-2:25pm
Hicks 217 (at time
of posting)
Office: McCain 2193
Office Hours:
Tuesdays, 3-4pm; Fridays, 2-3pm (except
Oct. 13, Oct. 27, and Nov. 24); or by appointment. Note: I usually add
extra
office hours before an essay is due.
Course
Description:
This
course will focus on British-Isles
literature written for children, from short stories to novels and
poetry. After
some early texts, we will turn to the so-called Golden Age of
children’s
literature, and then a range of twentieth-century examples, including
the rise
of the multi-volume series for children and young adults.
Format: Lecture/Discussion
Prerequisites: Any course or
combination of
courses that satisfies the College of Arts and Sciences Writing
Requirement.
Assignments:
Weightings and Due Dates:
·
Three
Response Papers: 250 words each. You
may submit up to five but only the top three grades will count: 5% each
for a
total of 15%. No extensions and no late response papers will be
accepted.
Alternative assignments or re-weightings will be offered only in the
event of significant
medical documentation indicating illness on two response-paper
duedates
or more.
Response
papers are due at the start of class (1:05pm) as follows:
1.
Part
I of Tom Brown’s Schooldays, September 14th;
2.
Remainder
of Tom Brown’s Schooldays, September 21st;
3. Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland, September 28th;
4.
Treasure
Island, October 12th;
5.
The
Story of the Treasure Seekers, October 26th;
6.
The
Horse and his Boy, November 14th.
It
is strongly
recommended that you write at least one in September.
·
Quiz
(1 hour), 15%, on October 5th
·
Essay
(1,500 words), 35%, due November 2nd;
3% per day of lateness, including weekends, unless medical or other
serious
documentation is provided.
·
Final
exam (2 hours), 35%, as scheduled by
the university.
·
Students
are also required to attend
classes and participate in discussion as key parts of the learning
process, and
to regularly check Brightspace: course materials will be posted there,
as well
as notifications regarding extra office hours, any cancelled classes,
and so
on.
Book List (available
in the university bookstore; other required readings are available
online and via
Brightspace):
Carroll,
Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and
Through the Looking-Glass. Ed. Peter Hunt. Oxford: Oxford
World’s Classics,
2009.
Hughes,
Thomas. Tom Brown’s Schooldays. 1857. Ed.
Andrew Sanders. Oxford: Oxford World’s Classics, 2008.
Lewis,
C. S. The Horse and His Boy. 1954. New
York: HarperCollins, 2002.
Nesbit,
Edith. The Story of the Treasure Seekers. 1899.
New York: Puffin Books, 1996.
Orwell,
George. Animal Farm: A Fairy Story. 1945. London:
Penguin, 2008.
Rowling,
J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
1997. New York: Bloomsbury, 2013.
Stevenson,
Robert Louis. Treasure Island. 1883.
New York: Puffin Books, 2008.
Course Schedule
Readings
must
be completed before the first class in which they will be discussed. I
don’t
waste class time on plot summary or basic description: class discussion
will
focus on historical context and analysis of the material, and it will
be hard
to follow if you have not finished the assigned readings. This schedule
is
subject to adjustment if there are unexpected class cancellations or if
students’ interest leads to further discussion. (Readings marked
with an asterisk will be available via Brightspace.)
September
5th: Introduction (full class)
September 12th: Maria Edgeworth and Richard
Lovell
Edgeworth, “Little Dominick”* from Essay
on Irish Bulls (1802); Preface and “The Tempest” from
Charles Lamb and Mary
Lamb, Tales from Shakespeare
(1807)
September
14th-19th: The School Novel: Part I of
Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown’s Schooldays (1857)
The Twentieth Century: The Emergence of
the Series and
the Team
October
26th-31st: The School-Holiday Novel: Edith
Nesbit, The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1899; first of three
novels
about the Bastables)
November 30th-December 5th: Is It or Isn’t It Children’s Literature?: George Orwell, Animal Farm: A Fairy Story (1945)